Thompson to stay in brewing industry
Rupert Thompson, chief executive of Refresh UK says he is to stay on in the industry following the sale of the business to Marston's yesterday.
Speaking to the Publican last night he said he had mixed emotions following the deal, which was signed at 4.30am yesterday morning.
"It is a great deal but Refresh UK was my baby and I don't think the reality of the whole thing has hit me yet. It was quite emotional telling the staff about the deal this morning."
Thompson set up Refresh in 2000 and has been behind the growth of ale brands such as Hobgoblin as well as the re-emergence of the Brakspear beer portfolio - which he bought at considerable financial risk in 2002.
He said he planned to stay on board at the company for the next six months to help with the integration and then move on to other things.
"I am definitely going to stay in the industry as I really love it. I won't move into competition with Marston's but I have a few ideas of what I'd like to do.
"I have worked at a various companies in the industry, from the very big [Bass] to my own small company - and I enjoyed running my own small business very much. That is the most exciting thing to do - to take risks. It is difficult to take them but it is great when they pay off. And I think this industry is far too risk-averse."
Reflecting on the reasons behind the deal Thompson said he felt Refresh had reached a point where only an acquisition or merger would grow the business and take it forward.
"We are debt free so an acquisition was a possibility. But I wasn't sure exactly what we could buy. Around the same time I had also been talking to Marston's about a possible deal."
Marston's and Refresh have had a close relationship for some years, with Marston's undertaking a number of packaging and brewing contracts for the company.
Thompson admitted it was the success of Marston's deals with Jennings and Ringwood over the last three years that made up his mind.
"It was particularly seeing the results of the Ringwood purchase and how that was handled that convinced me to do the deal," he added.
"Marston's did it with sensitivity and great success. They understood the value of local brands and of keeping local breweries open. Local brands have credibility and in the long term they add far more value than having a major cost-cutting exercise."
